BATTLE GROUND — The trend continued for Hockinson soccer, and that was not a good thing for the Hawks.
For the fifth consecutive season, the Hockinson girls soccer team fell in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs.
Sehome of Bellingham scored two quick goals in the first half and cruised to a 6-2 victory Tuesday night at District Stadium.
While the season ended for the Hawks, there is optimism that this will be the last early exit from state. This 2010 team, with no seniors, has eight sophomores and seven freshmen — all gaining invaluable experience for future campaigns.
One of those sophomores scored Hockinson’s lone goal of the night, a blast to the corner of the net from about 25 yards. Kavita Battan’s goal came 13 seconds after Sehome had taken a 3-0 lead, giving the Hawks some hope.
It might not have turned into a comeback for the Hawks. But again, there is hope for the future.
“Next year we’ll have the same team and we’ll come out 10 times stronger,” Battan said. “I’m pretty sure we’ll make it past the first round because we’ll be together again.”
Hockinson coach Vic Oenning echoed those thoughts.
“It’s the right kind of building. The foundation is good around this house,” he said.
The pain of losing always stings, but the coach said Sehome — a team that just improved to 19-1-1 — is what Hockinson is striving to be like one day.
“It’s definitely a picture of where we want to be next year,” Oenning said.
Sehome’s Jessica Bertucci scored in the match’s third minute, then added another goal 12 minutes later.
Then it was Emily Watson’s turn for a 3-0 lead with nine minutes remaining in the first half.
Seconds later, the Hawks were on the board, courtesy of Battan’s perfectly placed power shot.
“It brought energy to the team,” Battan said. “It got us pumped up. I wanted to get the crowd pumped up, too. I thought we were going to do better in the second half, but it didn’t come together in the end. But our girls played their hearts out.”
Bertucci pretty much put an end to any hopes of a Hockinson rally with a goal thirty seconds into the second half, giving her the hat trick.
The Mariners then poured it on, much like the pouring rain all night at District Stadium.
Sehome got goals from Madison Heilmann and Sierra Loveland-Pope to push the advantage to five goals.
Aurora Bodehamer gave the Hawks the right to say they scored last in the match.
Her hard shot from about 35 yards out was mishandled by the keeper and rolled into the net.
Hockinson concluded the season with a 13-6-1 record, a Class 2A Greater St. Helens League title, another trip to state, and a lot of expectations for the future.
